Rolls-Royce SMR to build 1.5 GW of modular reactors in Wales

British company Rolls-Royce SMR, in which Czech energy company ČEZ holds approximately a 20 percent stake, will build the first three small modular reactors in the UK at the Wylfa site on the island of Anglesey in north Wales. The facility will have a capacity of around 1.5 gigawatts (GW). The selection of the site, which previously hosted a nuclear power plant, was confirmed by the UK government organisation Great British Energy - Nuclear. ČEZ spokesman Ladislav Kříž told ČTK today.

Each Rolls-Royce SMR small modular reactor is expected to generate 470 megawatts (MW) of zero-emission electricity. According to ČEZ, this corresponds to the consumption of one million households for at least 60 years. Media previously reported that US representatives had criticised the British decision to build small modular reactors at Wylfa. The United States had supported the construction of a conventional nuclear power plant at the same site by US company Westinghouse.

Great British Energy - Nuclear, a government organisation supporting nuclear energy in the UK, selected Rolls-Royce SMR this year as its preferred supplier of small modular reactors. The decision is also significant for Czechia, as ČEZ plans to build small modular reactors with a capacity of up to three gigawatts in cooperation with Rolls-Royce SMR, Kříž said.

A nuclear power plant operated at the Wylfa site from the first half of the 1970s, ceasing generation in 2015. However, the site continued to be considered for modern nuclear facilities. According to Rolls-Royce SMR, the area has a skilled workforce available thanks to its nuclear tradition.

Rolls-Royce SMR also plans to build small modular reactors in Czechia. The first of these is expected to be built next to the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant around the middle of the 2030s. ČEZ is now assessing further sites. According to Kříž, the sites of existing coal-fired power plants, such as Tušimice in the Chomutov region, appear suitable.

Energy from small modular reactors should help replace generation from coal-fired power plants that are being phased out in Czechia. At Tušimice, for example, the new facility should also supply heat to surrounding towns and municipalities. Small modular reactors operate on the same principle as large nuclear reactors, but have a lower output and can be manufactured serially in factories. According to nuclear energy experts, they differ from large nuclear units mainly through faster and simpler construction.